


A Call for Volunteers

by tsukinofaerii



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-22
Updated: 2010-03-22
Packaged: 2017-10-08 05:49:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukinofaerii/pseuds/tsukinofaerii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing, but <i>nothing</i> can keep young Lord Larsa out of trouble, no matter what his guards do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Call for Volunteers

Captain Edmin faced the gathered troops as they lounged around the meeting room. It was too packed for him to demand any sort of formality and, in any case, this was a voluntary meeting. It very nearly had to be, what with the topic on hand. "Thank you for coming. I shall be brief. Lord Larsa has requested a tour of the Ozmone Plains. We need volunteers to be his escort."

Immediately, voices rose in protest from the gathered soldiers.

"Volunteers? Only a bleeding idiot would volunteer to guard _that_ one!" A dark-haired sergeant stood, hands planted on his hips. He was a young solider, but only the best in the Imperial Army had been asked to show up. "Remember Rabanastre? We damn near lost him near a known den of insurgents! If Judge Gabranth hadn't been on hand, he'd be hostage as we speak!"

"You think you have it bad?" One of the few female guards snorted and tossed back her brown fringe of hair from her eyes. "We _did_ lose him in Bhujerba. Judge Ghis found him running out of the mines as though the hordes of Hell were on his heels."

"I heard they were," someone added from near the back. "And that wasn't the half of it! He even took up with a little Dalmascan chit he found there. Penelope or something. And he's _still_ mooning over her—Lord Vayne's spitting nails!"

"Protecting Lord Larsa is difficult," the captain admitted. It was only the truth. "And it's not a duty for the faint at heart."

"Or faint of job!" another person cracked. This was met with general agreement from the crowd. Everyone knew that at least one soldier met with a discharge for every "special outing" the young lord went on. Usually it was the lowest-ranking, scut soldiers who caught the blame for his recent escapes, but age eight his exploits had brought down no less than two Judges and a handful of majors along with the grunts.

"Which is why we're taking _volunteers_ this time," Edmin stressed. "This is off-duty, light work, hefty pay, with the Imperial seal on a document promising reprisal only if the young Lord's escape can be proved as negligence rather than his usual tricks. There's no way this can go wrong."

That silenced the hecklers. Even the sergeant paused, though he didn't sit down."...How much _is_ this 'hefty pay'?" he asked finally. "It'd have to be a damned lot to be worth it."

"Fourteen thousand gil for the week, plus all expenses and a bonus if Lord Larsa is successfully kept contained. "Edmin looked out over his suddenly rapt audience. "You can keep whatever loot you pick up hunting, and Lord Vayne has promised a special reward for anyone who manages to distract his brother from the Dalmascan girl."

The bonus, they all knew, could likely be written off. The same could be said for Vayne's offered prize; the Solidor ability to fixate was legend. It was a large reason they made excellent rulers. But fourteen thousand gil plus loot was good money, even if it _was_ in a place as dangerous as the Ozmone Plains.

Finally, a voice piped up. "What's the catch?"

"When—_if_ Lord Larsa escapes, you'll only be paid for the days you worked, and you'll be immediately on search duty. If he's gone on day one, it's two thousand gil and a switch to regular pay. Day two, four thousand and the same." Edmin looked down at his notes, then shuffled them aside and looked up again. "I'm not screwing with you. Chances are we'll lose him before we make it fifty feet. But either way we'll all end up on search and rescue, and you might as well make some extra gil that first day out. And, more importantly, we'll have put our best effort forward towards defending Lord Larsa." One by one, he met the eyes of the men and women gathered there. "I'll be leaving the sign up sheet on the notice board. You sign up, I'll let you know when we're heading out. Any questions?"

No one moved. Edmin nodded, gathered his papers and left.

The next day, the sign up sheet had been filled.


End file.
